Photos Show Miles-Long Line Of Cars Waiting At Food Banks

Stark photos show miles-long row of cars waiting outside a Florida food bank as demand surges by 600 per cent and more than half-a-million residents file for unemployment

ARIEL ZILBER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and ASSOCIATED PRESS

Dramatic images from South Florida on Monday show a long line of cars backed up bumper to bumper on a roadway while motorists wait hours to get food from a food bank.

A drone captured aerial shots of vehicles waiting in line in Sunrise, Florida, just northwest of Fort Lauderdale, on Monday.

The motorists were waiting to receive food from Feeding South Florida, a food bank that relies on donations to feed the poor.

Feeding South Florida has seen a 600 per cent increase in the number of people asking for food as millions have been laid off due to the coronavirus outbreak

An aerial view from a drone shows vehicles lineup to receive food provided by the food bank Feeding South Florida in Sunrise, Florida, on Monday

Feeding South Florida has seen a 600 per cent increase in the those asking for food aid as people, some of whom have lost jobs, need to make ends meet during the coronavirus pandemic

Floridians lined up to receive produce ranging from milk, chicken, apples, tomatoes, cantaloupes, and eggs.

According to the Miami Herald, food banks like Feeding South Florida and others have a glut of fresh produce to give away.

That’s because the coronavirus outbreak has forced governments to shut down the hospitality industry, which includes restaurants, hotels, airlines, cruise ships, school cafeterias, and other businesses that serve food to customers.

That means farmers who rely on these businesses to buy their crops have an excess of perishable food and nothing to do with it.

Food that isn’t donated to food banks is simply thrown away or turned into mulch as there is no set mechanism to efficiently redistribute the excess produce to those in need.

‘The volume is at a level we’ve never seen before,’ said Stephen Shelley, president and CEO of Farm Share.

‘It is overwhelming the system.’

Farm Share distributes food every day through partnerships with food pantries, churches, school, and other nonprofits.

‘The math is not on our side,’ Vatske said.

More than 520,000 Floridians have applied for unemployment since March 15, compared to 326,000 in all of last year.

State statistics show that as of Monday, almost 13,000 people have been diagnosed with the disease and 235 have died since the outbreak began being tracked a month ago.